Safety torpedo



Patented May 22, 1928.

Koni; .Kennen nl :wl nenn, N. Y# i SerETY Tmew! Application led July 31,1926".` I Serial No.

Tit isf a generalobect of the present inveIition'to' provide aA noveland*` improved type' toy ftorpedd `lM perticii'larly it, is amv Objectof the invention to? provide a toy torpedo, having ar container orexplosive',A and means to initiate-" the lfexplosi'on 'of fsaidrexplosive c1113,Y upon'intentional` or severe impact of the" torpedoagainst a hard surface.

Another object of the invention consists in the provision of areceptacle o1; container 'for the explosivematerial of. a toyitorped'o,said?*ieceptaclejbeing formed of a` 'f-rmigiblc niolflable material andhaving a recess for theiece'ption of the explosive'and'y a strikerpifojecting'finto the recess from one of the 'walls-4 thereoi` andladapted to be 4broken loose to` strike the Walls when the torpedo is;subjected tofa sudden impact.

A fiirtl'ier object 'o't'* theinvention consists inthe provision ofa'tojfv torpedo in which@ the 'container for' the'explosive is'form'ed'of a moldabl'e and frangibleinaterial having; incbrporlatedth'ereinfsmall particles o'ffa'i heavy` material to"impart` additionalWeight Tancli abrasivea'cti'on toportions of the coifitainerl when: theyaref brokenf-offlo initiate the explosion.

1Otherandflurther Qbjectsot the invention will? be' more appa-rent tothose skilled in thezai-t'alter-a consideration; of the ac-kcompanyingdrawings and following' specification'ivhereinarefd-'i'sclose'dseveral exemplary embodiments of the invention with theunderstanding, howevei,tliat various changes mayl he made thereinWit-hout departinglrointhespirittoit the invention or the scope ot the;appended claims.

In said drawings: `Figui-e1 isasectionthru a spherical form of torpedotaken thru-the axis of. the recess; Figure 2" is a similar View ofaftube ytype otorpedo;

Figure is a horizontal section onfline 3-@30115 Figure- 2? i Figure'l isa centralfsectiony thru a modilied ii'rin off a torpedo in Wlii'ch'thestriker is secured' to the' closure; Figure `5` is aviewV simil'artoFigurevi but showing th'e'u'seof v'vighted materiel forr forming theei'iplosivecontain'erf; Figure 'is'a" vi av similanto' Figure 1 showingthe Lise of avvei'ghted material for the explosive container and the useot abra;- siv'epn' the walls ol the recess? andi the striker'g' and? ilFignre?l is asection of a torpedo of the type disclosed in'Figurefl.immediately -iiofllowing4 its? impact' on" a herd sur-face.

ToytorpedoesgV I as usiially neanni-actured `at present-,comprise acontaineror receptacle generallyim'ade of paper,v pasteboa'rd or' theylike in the foiinf of' la :tube withv 'closed ends or infvtheforn'oftwo teles'copingcups. nto suchf container 1s placedl an explosive compo`sitlon, 1n powdered form, and some abrasive or detonating'meanssiich asgravel or the moveinentofthe particles of gravel tol prof duce'"sufficient" heat' by friction v'to ignite the explosive materialwhichis scattered over thejsnrface'otthe" gravel'.l In order to over`'come'such di'icnlties" attemptsl-` have been made to'reduce thesensitivity of the'eplosive material but that'often requires thaty toogreat an impactvk beV given `the torpedo `When itis 'to beVintentionally ired.` This results in inis'ires if thetorpedol isV not'thrown hard enough and generallymakes an unsatisfao torytorpedo;Y IThepresent invention'pro- `vides ai'typ'e of torpedo'in Whichfthere is novloose orinovable abrasive 4or detonating mea-ns andinwhich may be `used'an explosive' :material of extremesensi-ti'vity' Without any' danggfei"of accidental detonation; The result 'i'sattafined by f having?v thedetonatirg medium 'frengibly `sc ec'ured to awa'll" of the' container.s'ofthat it is held rigid arid-Treia# f tively immovable; inl respect to'the 'container until' an impact-cfthe container against" a hard surfacecauses the momentum* -ofthis deton'afingi medium-'to break it looselll!! V its supporting Wall and move it into contact .disclosed with oneof the Walls of the container thus abrading or detonating the explosive'which covers it and the Walls of the container.

Referring to the drawing, there isv disclosed at' 10 a cup-likecontainer for the eX- plosive material. Itis in theparticular form shownin Figure 1 substantially spherical and provided with a recess 11 `whichisfrustr0- conical, the larger base of the'conebeing at the open end.

mold. From the vbottom or smaller' base ofthe conical recess, or in factfrom any one of the Walls of the same, there projects `what may betermed a striker 12. -Thereqess at the bottom or junction of the strikervWith the base thereofisnarrowed into a V-shape asA shown at 13 andvextends almost `to the surface of the vsphere leaving vonly thenarrowring 14 of material to retain the striker inf'position. A cap 15closes the opening of the recess andycompletes lthe. sphericalconfiguration vof vthe container. y.The eXplosive material 16 is placedvin the container b etvveen'the Walls 17 ofthe recess andthe striker. 12beforefthe cap 15 :is positioned andsealedjin placeto make a' gas tightand moisture proof -enclosure for the explosive.

The material. of which the container is formed is preferablyY a plasticorr mastic Which is readily mold'able. either by the use of heatl tosoften the same'or `by the use of some solventfwhichreadily evaporatesto cause hardening; rA .composition such as inr myr copendingfapplication, Serial-No. 45,657,1iledfJuly, 23, 1925, may be usedalth'othis is not necessary'.V Ingenf eral itis'preferredto fuse acompositionof highfmeltingpoint pitch, a binder ofsome f sort such as shreddedasbestos-and lafiller-of inert` material such as fuller-s earth,`kiesel'- guhr or the like. The? casingf or container when hardenedisrelatively frangible'so-that upon impact it isbroken into a numberofsmall pieces. The material from vwhichv the container and the-cap 15 areyformed can readilyV be molded-.in ,metal molds rto the "form disclosedandlargenumbers of the containers can be made simultaneously and -atan'extremelyf low cost; :Y A l Around the exterior of the container isplaced avgas tight resilient medium 18.

This medium may be glue or.v a similar matev rial'vvhich originally infa `liquid Astate in which the cups after-lillingmay be dipped veo andthe -n'iaterial allowedto harden. Preferably it should :not stick to theeX-teriorvofl the container, .If the `container is formed of apitchcomposition this condition is readily met for the oily surface of thepitch oii'ers resistance to adhesion `from ordinary Water solubleadhesive. f i

v'iVhen aS-torpedo" constructed asxjust described is thrown against ahard surface, the

This particular formof ref, lcess is provided in order to give draft'tovthe casing and its envelope are brought to a sudden stop but themomentum of the striker 12. causes it to continue to move and'in sodoing it is broken loose from the remainingV vport-ion of the cup at thethin section Continued movement vOf the striker causes it 'to impactagainst one of vthe innerfxvalls of the container and abrade orotherwise initiate the explosion of the material 16 contained therein; Aconsideration of Figure 7 will indicate the condition of the torpedo atthe' moment of vimpact on a `hard surface such, as f19. '1t-Will be seenthat not Aonly andthat the striker 'will be broken looseun der allconditionsy and will impactwith the sides of the cup with sufficientenergy to initiate the explosion. resilient and not adheringtov thematerlal of The envelope y18, being the container, remains gastightinorderV that its disruption by the expanding gas will cause a loudreport., .y 1 It may sometimes be found that the material of thecontainer is not sufficiently hard or. abrasive to causeftheexplosionand there.- fore, as shownin Figure 1, it maybe Well, in orderto insure a highpercentage .of'eX- plosions, tovline the Walls'17 ofthecontainer and vthe outer surface of the striker 12 With abrasivematerial A17?A such asjsmally mesh sand, emery or the likev Which.l maybe caused to adhereto these surfaceslnjanyfdesiredA manner. lVhere themastic.. compositionv is softened by heat, thejabrasive may be heatedand poured into the recess 11 and that abrasive which yis inengagementwith the Walls W-illfsufliciently soften.themftoadhere'thereto and the' remainder ,may be poured *outa I'nFigure2is shownatorpedor'of the tube type.V Its details; of construction'aresubstantially identical with' thoseof the tor-v pedo shown in Figurelfthe only-difference f being in the exterior configuration rand inthc-relative shape-sof the partsfln this form the striker 20thinnenandlonger and/for this reason may sometimes break in several.parts in addition to separating from the container,l thusl increasingthe certainty of exploding." In this forr'n'as Well as in the otherforni the closure'capsl and 21 are preferably formed of the samematerial as the container,and'mayI be secured thereto by the use ofasuitable adhesive or s'olventor by slightly lie-ating either vt-heyedges ofthe Aclosure orthe edges of the openingof'tfhe pressing theclosure in y`posi.

container and tion. Obviously a large numberof the clo-y sures may rbeapplied simultaneously if de. e

las

described forms.

sired."`jThe lmaterial from ivhicli the containers are formed 1spractically blown to lbits as a result of :the explosion andno largeparti' es are therefore thrown to any great distance', thus adding an'element ofsafety yThe cup 22 is lformed With Walls of any desiredthickness and 'with an opening at the -top having flaring Walls 'lhestriker Q-lin'tliisinstance is carried by the closure cap having suchl aconfiguration as to readily titagainst the' VWalls and be securedthereto. A vchannel or groove 26 is formed around the bottoni ofthe'striker to increase the frangibility so that kthe striker may bebroken loose as in the case of the previously This forni offers greatYease" of-manufacture for the yabrasive may be readily applied both' tothe interior of the cup and the exterior of the striker.

it is sometimes found desirable to ni'eight the striker in order toincrease its momentum and striking energy. This may best be done bymixing` a heavy material With the plast-ic"composition. It may`sometimes be advisable to"us`e, as the .veigliting material, anabrasive so `that none need be applied after the molding` processi.' In'the forni shoivn in Figure it Will be seen that the y Acontainerisidentical with thatdisclosed in Figure l but has incorporated in thematerial of the container the particles y27 to increase the Weight.riChese particles` may be sand, gravelvor other abrasive or mayconvenientlybel irontilings or small metal chips. Those which stick-thruthe surface increase the abrasive qualities of the Walls of the recessand the surface of the striker in addition to augmenting the weight ofthe striker.

The closure 28 need not be provided with the Weighting or abradingmaterial altho it may be if so desired.

Sometimes itmay be found desirable to provide not only the Weightingmaterial but also the abrasive lining for the container. rThis featureis shown in Figure 6 in which is disclosed at 29 suitable Weightingmaterial such as metal filings or shavings incorporated in the plasticmass from which the container is molded. At 30 are disclosed particlesor granules of abrasive material such as that previously mentionedsecured to the inner Walls of the container and to the surface of thestriker. v

It will be understood from the above that the primary intent of thepresent type of torpedo is to provide safety during manufacturing,shipping and storing of the torpedo and this is done by providing a cup,which acts as a container for t-he detonating material, which when it isdesired to intentionally explode it, is transformed by the impact intoelements for abrading, detonatiiig or'otherivise' initiating the Iexplosion of the explosive material.v 'lli'ese transformed eleinentsformed yfrtnnV the" breaking" of the ycup parts act in thesaine'capacity. as the gravel noir used in other types of torpedoes. y l

Havii'ig thusdescribed the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be Secured by Letters Patentis: j y

l. As a n'eiv article of manufacture, a Ycontainer for toy torpedohaving a recess therein anda projection'v frangibly secured to saidcontainer and ivitjhin said recess.

2. As a neiv article of manufact-ure, a frangible container foi-'a toytorpedolhava recess therein and a projection secured tfrtaid containerand Within said recess. l

3. As a new article ofmanufacture, la

frangib'le container for a ltoytorpedo a rec-ess' therein and projectionintegral with said container and extending `within said recess.` i i jt. A toy 'torpedo including in lcombination, a completely envelopingcontainer for an explosive, lnieans' .adapted to-y cooperate With theinterior of' said coiitainer to initiate the explosion o'f saidexplosive, said means being frangibly'at-tached to said container. y iml., y n y[5. A toy torpedoincludingin combination, a cup-like containerfor an explosive,I a closure for said container, means in saidcontainerl secured'to afivall th'ereofand' normally' outv of ContactWith therem'aining "Walls-dto"l set off the explosive in said corrtobreak said'means from its Walls'.

6. A container for explosive for a toy torpedo comprising a frangiblemass having a recess therein, a cover to close the opening of saidrecess to the vexterior of said massand a striking element projectinginto said recess.

7. A container for explosive for a toy torpedo comprising a frangiblemass having a recess therein, a cover to close the opening of saidrecess to the exteriorof said mass and a Weighted element projectinginto said recess.

8. A cup-like. container for explosivefor a toy torpedo having a deeprecess therein, a cover to close said recess, an elongated projectionextending into said recess and having a frangible support adapted to bebroken by the momentum of said projection when the torpedo isimpacted.

9. In a toy torpedo in combination, a cup portion, a closure portiontherefor, a projecting` striker extending into the recess of said cupand being frangibly supported from one of the portions, said strikerhaving an abrasive surface and being large in respect to said recess.

l0. In a toy torpedo in combination, a cup portion, a closure portiontherefor, a projecting striker extending `into the recess of tainerupon'suliicient impact of the torpedo `said vcup and being frangiblysupported from one of the portions, said striker and cup recess Wallshaving abrasive surfaces.

`11. In a toy torpedo in combination, a completely enveloping containerfor explosive, a .striker Within said container and sta tionary inrespect thereto, said striker being adapted to move in respect to saidcontainer when the torpedo is'impacted.'

12. In aktoy torpedo, in combination, a gas tight molded containervhaving a recess therein forming a compartment forexplosive, asubstantially conical member extending into said recess, said memberbeing'connected with a portion of said "container by irangible means.

13; In a toy torpedo, in combination, a

' molded container having a deep recess therein forming a compartmentfor explosive, a cover to seal said compartment, a striker memberextending into said recess from a Wall thereof, said Wall surrounding`the area ofattachment of said striker being thin and frangible.

i 14. In 'a toy torpedo, in combination, a gas tight container for theexplosive, said container being 'formed from a molded weighted plasticmaterial.

-15. In a toy torpedo,fin combination, a

container for thev explosive formed of a Weighted moldable material andanon-adhering gas tight covering.

1,6.A In a toy torpedo, ,lin combination, ay

cup portion, a closure portion therefor, a projecting striker extendinginto the recess of said cup and being frangibly supported from one ofthe portions, said striker being Weightedand having an abrasive surface.

a mastic, abrasive on thel Walls yof said recess and surface of saidstriker, explosive in said recess surroundingn said striker, a closurefor said recess and agas tightresilient coveringV surrounding'said cup.

19. In a toy torpedo, in combmatlon, a

Vclosed container, an explosive Acomposition insaid container and anormally stationary member projecting into said Acontainer and adapted,when the torpedo is impacted, to

engage the explosive between the member anda Wall ofthe container toexplode .the

same.

, 20. As a new article of manufacture, a container formingy a gastightenclosure for .explosive for a toy torpedo, said rcontainer havingmeanssecured to an inner Wall and adapted to leave said `Wall todetonate the explosive in said container when the torpedo is impacted. lIntestimonywhereof I hereunto affix my signature.

xoBY Konn.

